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This site is copyright 2006, CPWC-ATC. Last updated 28 May 2006.
Common Beliefs
  • Divinity is imminent (or internal), as well as transcendent (or external). This is often expressed by the phrases "Thou Art God" and "Thou Art Goddess."

  • Divinity is just as likely to manifest itself as female. This has resulted in a large number of women being attracted to the faith and joining the clergy.

  • A multiplicity of gods and goddesses, whether as individual deities or as facets of one or a few archetypes. This leads to multi-valued logic systems and increased tolerance towards other religions.

  • Respect and love of Nature as divine in Her own right. This makes ecological awareness and activity a religious duty.

  • Dissatisfaction with monotheist religious organizations and distrust of would-be Messiahs and gurus. This makes Wiccans hard to organize, even "for their own good," and leads to constant mutation and growth in the movement, which is seen as beneficial.

  • The conviction that human beings were meant to live lives filled with joy, love, pleasure, and humor. A traditional Western concept of sin, guilt, and divine retribution are seen as misunderstandings of natural growth experiences.

  • A simple set of ethics and morality based on the golden rule: the avoidance of harm to other people. Some may extend this to some or all living beings and the planet as a whole.

  • The knowledge that with proper training and intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing all of the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need, through the use of natural psychic powers, which everyone possesses.

  • The importance of acknowledging and celebrating the solar, lunar, and other cycles of our lives. This has led to the investigation and revival of many ancient customs and the creation of some new ones.

  • A minimum of dogma and a maximum of eclecticism. This is to say, Wiccans are reluctant to accept any ideas without investigating them, and are willing to adopt and use almost any concept they find useful, regardless of its origins.

  • A strong faith in the ability of people to solve their own problems on all levels, public and private.
      There is no need to fear Wiccans or their religion. They don’t recruit or proselytize. They gather, often in robes, in serene, nature outdoor surroundings to be in contact with nature during their services; otherwise, you’d never know they were there. Their own children are encouraged to examine many other religions and make an informed personal choice of which to follow when they grow older. These people may call themselves Neo-Pagans, Pagans, Wiccans, or even Witches. They are neither evil nor weird. They do not perform sacrifices - neither actual nor symbolic - nor any kind of black magic or devil-worship. They don’t kill anything as a religious practice. In fact, they hold Life in all its forms as sacred, and many are vegetarians. Few, if any, hunt wild animals for sport. They are a simple, gentle people - people just like you and your friends, only different in that they hold to another view of spirituality than Christian, Moslem, or Jew, a view based on nature and the forces of deity as manifest in the cosmos, a spirituality that may be unfamiliar but is not harmful.